Both Kamenicky and Russell grew up during the Great Depression; the first on a farm in Milam County, Texas, and the second in Memphis, Tennessee.
Russell joined the Navy as a teenager just before the war began. he said, "Being a Depression baby, in the Navy I had three good meals a day and I was issued clothing. I had it good."
Kamenicky remembers loading 275 pounds of gunpowder on board the USS Arizona on the day before the attack. He was below decks on the Phoenix washing dishes in the scullery when the attack began. He said, "As I stepped through the hatch I was facing the Arizona and it blew. It took a minute for the sound and concussion to hit us bodily."
The Phoenix was undamaged and steamed out of the harbor. Both men served on the ship for the duration of the war. Fortunately for the ship, there were few casualties. One of the few killed met his fate by ricocheting shrapnel from a Japanese bomb as he spoke with Kamenicky.
After the war, both got jobs with railroads, but still never met until they went to the veterans home.
Quite a Story. --DaCoot
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